Peanut-hulling machine



F. P. GALLI PEANUT HULLING MACHINE Filed Aprl'Q. 1924 s sheets-sneet 1July 14, 1925. 1,545,826

F. P. GALLI EANuT Humans MACHINE Filed April 9.

5 Sheets-Sheet. 2

July 14, 1925.

F. P. GALLI PEANUT HULLING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IIHHIII.

lll [L Han/(2P @allz- Patented July 14, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT/OFFICE.-

FRANK I. GALLI, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIeI`\IOi::.v To PEANUTSPECIALTY CO., Or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION `or ILLINOIS.

PEANUT-HULLING MACHINE, Y.

Appucauonfnea April 9, 1924. serial Nof'roama- ToaZZ whom it mayconcern; o

Be it known thatl, FRANK P. GALLI, a citizen of the United States,lresiding' at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certainznew and useful Improvements in Peanut-Hulling Machines,of which the following is a speciretailA market.

fication.

his invention relates to jinachines de-` signed to remove the hulls orskins from .shelled nuts, and more particularly peanuts. The machineisbased upon the broad prin- Vciple` of subjecting the nuts to alVcombined tumbling and attrition action while conveyingthein through a`trough, the skins or hulls for the most part being removed by theaction-of a roughened surface movingin a direction atright angles to thepath of travel of the nuts. through the trough, such movingsurfacepreferably taking the form of a sanded..apron orbroad belt. As anprovide an improved, simpliliedand highly lefficient machine foreffecting the hulling or blanchingof peanuts and `other nuts whichcommonly require to have the hulls or skins removed pfreliminarytoplacing them on the Other more specific objects Vand attendantadvantages of the invention willbe apparent'to those skilled in the artfrom the following ldetailed description,

taken lin connection with the accompanying `drawings in which lhaveillustrated one practical `and approved invention, and whereiniembodiment of the Fig. 1 lis a top lplan view of the machine;

Y Fig. 2 fi`s"`a1front elevation thereof, viewed fromtheright of Figs. 1and 3;

Fig.` A3 is a side elevation viewed Afrom ythe left of Fig. 2;

F ig; 4 is a top pla-n, partly inihorizontal section, on the line 1 4 ofFig. 2, of the trough, with the `:perforated,cover-plate of thetroughremoved,V 4

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 5-5o-f Figs. 1 and 2;and

Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken onthe line 6-6 of Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, ,10' and 11 designate respectively a pair ofupright side frame members, on and between which the principal operatingparts of the machine are mounted. On each of the sidel frame ,membersl10 and 11 is mounted a strip or v.plate12 (Fig. 3), ony the forward endof `which is mounted a bearing. 13. In and between the bearings 13isvjournaled the shaft 111 of 1a roll 15 constituting a movable side oftrough hereinafter more fully described. By reference to Fig. 2-it will`beobserved that the shaft 1li` of therolll. is not quite horizontal,but is slightly inclined from the feed to the delivery end ofthejtrough, so

as to facilitate the gradual passage of thel nuts by gravity'from thehigh to theL low end of the trough. AtV the rear of the strips or plates12 vare formed rectangular slideways 16 (Fig. 3) in which are mountedlblocks 17 that Vprovide journals for the shaft 18 of al rear roll 19 ofsomewhat less diameter than the front roll d. i Over and between therolls 15'and `19 extends an endless broad belt ror apron 20, the outersurface of which is preferably roughenedas by sand-coating the same. Aproper tension of vthe apron is maintained by adjusting screws 21swiveled in the. bearing blocks 17 and engaged with stationary4 nuts 22on the rear 1 of the slideways 16; `said screws being equipped with handwheels 23. l l

Mountedon angle brackets 24 attached to ,the forward edges ofthe sideframes 10 and 1 is an inclined board 25 that'forms the stationary wall,of the trough, the movable wall ofwhich is formed by therolll and apronthe lower edge oftheboard 25 i kjust clearing the surface' of the apron,,as clearly shown lin Figs. 5 and 6.. The board 25 Yhas a longitudinalinclination .correspondfing-to that of the roll 15,and-the low end l ofthe trough formed by the board androll is closed by an end Vcover-plate26.. Just inwardly of the cover-plate `26` thewall 25 of the trough isprovided with a discharge .opening27 that communicates with the up- .perendof a downwardly and-forwardly inclined nut discharge conduit 28. y

Communicating with the other or high end of the trough is the lower 'endof va feed conduit 29, which feed conduit communi- Oates at its upperend with the lower end of a hopper filled with the nuts to be hulledControlling the opening from the hopper Vthrough the discharge chute.

into the feed conduit isV a :sliding door 31 that, b-y its positionrelatively to the opening controls the rate of feed from the hopper intothe feed spout or conduit. klvOn the strips or plates 12 are mounted apairof bent bars 32 (Figs. 1 and 3) overhanging the bearings 13 andforming end supportsy Ifor a battle strip 33 that extends above andparallel with the roll'l, being spaced about a sixteenth of an inch fromthe surface of the'apron on said roll. The function of this bar is toblock the passage of the nuts upwardly over the roll, which latter turnsin the direction indicated by` the `'arrows in Figs. 37 5V and 6, whilepermitting the loosened hulls that cling to the rough surface lof theapron to pass beneath the baffle strip and be carried to the rearby theapron. Supported upon vthe/upper edges of the trough wall 25a-nd thebafile stripv 23 is a removable perforated sheet metal 'coverplate 34that eXtends from the feed chute 29 tothe opposite or discharge end ofthe trough.

' f Mounted -crosswi'se of the trough wall 25 which the nuts aredelivered from? the spout into the trough. Thesize of this opening maybe Y'regulated by aslide 37 resting on the trough wall 25 and confinedbetween the side of thefspout 29 and the adjacent end of the cover-plate34.* i

' Provision is made for carrying off by suci tion'such portion of thehullsor skins vas are not carried off by the apron20 during the travelof the nuts through thetrougli. The

'means for effecting this comprises arotary n fan or blower 38'mountedon the inner side of the frame member 11' and a suction pipe '39 leadingfrom the eye ofthe-blower casing to the lower side of the dischargetrough 28. yAs shown in Fig. '5, thesuction pipe 39 communicates withvthe nut discharge conduit 28v through an opening or passage 40sufiiciently narrowrv to prevent the kernels from being drawn offthrough the pipe 39,

butfwide 'enough to allow the easy passage therethrough of the hulls andhull fragments. On the lower end of the discharge chute 28 isa suspendedvalve V41 whichl swings Open under the weight ofthe nuts suhciently toallow the` passagegof the lat- .,te'r, and at the same time sufficientlyrestricts the inward flow of airfto make the suction effective upon thehulls falling The back of `roll 15. y,is*pr vic led with the usualtangential disthe chute is preferablyprovided with an opening normallyclosed byl a hinged cover 42, by opening which any clogging of the nutsat the lower end of the chute may readily be remedied. 'i

- The moving parts "of the machine are driven from; an electric motor Mthrough the following instrumentalities.y The armatureshaft 43 Aof themotor carries a pulley 44 connected by a belt 45 to a pulley 46 0n theffan shaft 47. The armature? shaft 43 also carries a vsprocket wheel 48which, through a` sprocket chain 49 drives a sprocket wheel 50 fast on`the shaft 14 ofthe apron The casing v of the. fan 38l charge pipeflthrough which the abstracted hulls are discharged. y In the operation ofthe machine, the nuts to be hulled orblanched are'supplie'd into thehopper 30k and, in a stream roughlyv regulated as to volume by thesliding door 31,

thel nuts flow by gravity through the feed chute 29 and thence into thereceiving end of the trough through the opening 36, .the feed beingfurther regulated by the adjustment of the slidingvalve 37. Power beingapplied, the apron 20 forming the movable Wall of the trough travelsupwardly as indicated 'by the arrows in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, and' the nutsare tumbled and rubbed thereby, 'thus loosening and breaking the hulls,and gradually descend the slightly inclined trough. They tend to pilekup more or less in front of the baffle plates 35 but gradually 'Aworkpast thek baffle plates to the discharge opening 27. During this travelof the nuts through the trough, the greater part of the loosened hullscling to the rough surface of the apron 20 and are abstracted by thelatter through the narrow opening between the surface ofthe belt and thelower edge'of 'the baffle strip 33. The kernels, accompanied by a smallproportion of thehulls notl carriedr off by the apron fall in acontinuousl stream through the discharge fport' 27 into and downthedischarge chute 28, `piling up in front of the discharge' valve 41 andby their weight gradually opening and passing the latter. The suctonblast through the pipe 39 operates to draw off the greater part of thehulls yand hull fragments that enter the chute 28, so that the kernelsas delivered arefcomparatively freey from hulls and otherfchaif. Thehulls carried off by the belt. 20 are discharged by gravity'from thetail-end of the beltion the rear side of the roll 19.y The tension ofthe belt may be regulated and slack, fas the machine wears, taken upbymanipulation of the hand screws 21 in an obvious manner.

TheV perforated cover-plate 34 is principally useful tov prevent thenuts from jump- Ving outof the troughlduring the tumbling operation.

bination of an endless traveling apron having arough outersurfacefandmeans for causing nuts to engage said apron whereby thehullsarefreinoved tliere'froinLsaid endless belt presenting an upperflat surface of Considerable length and Width capable of performing thefunction of a picking table.

2. In a peanut hullingvmachine, `the combination of a trough including atransversely movable `Wall formed by an endless apron having aroughsurfaceadapted to pick` up hulls, afeed chute communicatingpvvithone end of said troughanda dischargechute communicating with its otherend, said endless belt presenting an upper flat surface of considerablelength and `Width capable of performing the functionof a picking table.3. Ina' peanut hullingmachine, the combination of Ia longitudinallyinclined trough one Wall of Which is formedby a traveling apron having arough surface adapted to pick upY hulls, -meansfor feeding the nuts intothe high end of said trough, and means for dischargingthe hulled nutsfrom the low end of said trough, said endless belt presenting an uppersubstantiallyiflat supporting surface of considerable area'to conveyhulls to a point remote from the trough.

4. In a peanut hullingjmachine, the combination of a longitudinallyinclined trough including a traveling apron having a rough surfaceadapted to pic-l: up hulls, a feed chute communicating with the high endof said trough, and-a discharge chute communicating with its rlow end,said endless belt presenting an upper 'substantially flat ysupportingsurface of considerable area to convey hulls to a point remote from thetrough.

5. In a peanut hulling machine, the combination of a longitudinallyinclined trough formed with a transversely' movable vv'all having arough surface adapted to pick up hulls, one or more baffles disposedcrossvvise of said troughV to retard the longitudinal movement of thenuts Within the trough, and a feed chute communicating With the high endof said trough. p 6. In a peanut hulling machine, the conibiiiation of aroll, a board located obliquely opposite to and parallel with said rolland forming with the latter a generally V- shaped trough, an aprontrained over said roll and having a roughsurface to pick up trough.

hulls, means for driving saidroll, and means for feeding nuts into oneendof said trough.

7. .ln peanut liullingmachine, ythe comn -a generally V-shaped trough,onefor more baille-plates .mounted en and crossvvise of the inner sideof said board, an apron trained over said roll having a rough surface tolpickV up' hulls, means `for driving said apron upwardly over said roll,and a feed chutecommunicating Withthe high end of said trough e f v i Vy, w 'y 9. In a peanut hulling machine, the comi bination of an inclinedroll, a board'located Uil obliquely opposite to and parallel With saidrolland forming With the latter agenerally V-shaped trough, an aprontrained over said roll and liafving'a rough surface Vto pick up hulls, abaiiie'bar extending parallel with and spaced a small distance above thetopl of said roll, means for-driving' said-apron up- Wardly over saidroll, 'andv afeed chute communicating vvith the high end of said l0. Ina peanut hulling machine, thecombination of an inclined roll, aboardlocated obl-iquelyoppositefto and parallel with said roll and formingWith thealatter a generally "V-shapedtrough, one or more baffle platesmounted on and crossvvise of the'inner side of said board, anaprontrained over said roll and having a rough surface to pick up hulls,a baiie-bar extending parallel with and spaced a small distance abovethe top of said roll, means for driving said apron upwardly over saidroll, and a feed chute com# muni-eating with the high end of saidtrough.

. 11. In a peanut hulling machine, the coinbination of a longitudinallyinclined trough including a transversely movable Wall formed by anapronhaving a rough surface adapted to pick up hulls, and a stationaryWall opposite to said movable lvvall formed with a discharge opening inits lovver` end, a feed chute extending into the high end of said troughformed With a lateral dischargey opening, means for regulating the sizeof said discharge opening, and a discharge 12; In a peanut hullingmachine, the com- 2 bination of a longitudinally inclined conveyortrough equipped With a transversely movable roughened Wall and withbaiies lfor tumbling the nuts andcarrying off the hulls, v a dischargechute communicating with theV lower end of said trough, and a suctionfan communicating with said discharge chute;

- 13. In a peanut hulling machine, the com-vy hination of alongitudinallyl inclined trough formed with Va ltransversely movablewall having a rough surface adapted to pick up hulls, anda stationarytransversely inclined wall opposite lto said movable wall formed with adischarge opening in its lower end,a`

the lower end of said trough, a valve at the lower end of said dischargechute controlling the flow of nuts from the latter, anda suction fancommunicating with said discharge chute at a' point abovesfaid'valve.

15. In a peanut hulling machine, the ycombination of `a longitudinallyinclined conveyor trough provided with means for tumbling thevnutsandconveying off the hulls laterally of the trough, a downwardly eX-vtending discharge chute communicating with the lower end of ksaidtrough, a suction fan communicating with said, Adischarge chute, and aperforated]cover-plate forY said trough.

16. In a'peanut hulling machine, the comtrough.

bination of i a -longitudinally i inclined conveyor trough having a rollforming one wall thereof, a second roll journaledopposite toVandparallel with said first-named roll, an

apron havingv a roughened surface extending over and between the saidrolls, andmeans for driving one'of saidrolls.

17. v In a peanu'thulling machine, the combination of alongitudinallyinclined trough having a roll formingone wallv thereof, asecond roll .journaled opposite to and paral-- lel with saidVfirst-named roll, an apron having agroughened surface extending overand'between said vrolls, means yfor bodily adjusting said second rolltoward and from said first-named roll, and means for driving one of saidrolls.

18. In a peanut hulling machine, the ,oom-- binationV of alongitudinally inclined trough having a roll formin'gone wall thereof, a

second roll journaledopposite to and paral-A Ylel with said iirstenamedroll,v an apron having a roughened surface extending over and betweenysaid rolls, a discharge chute communicating with the lower end of saidtrough, a suction fan communicating with said discharge chute, a motor,and driving connections from said motor to said suction fan and to oneofsaid rolls.'

y19.7,In a` peanut hulling machine, the combination of fa longitudinallyinclined trough formed witha transversely movable wall having a roughsurface adapted to pick up hulls, means within the trough to retard thelongitudinal travel of the nuts down the trough and'to increase thetumbling'and rubbing effect on the nuts, and a feed chute communicatingwith the high end of the FRANK P SGALLI.

